With the festive season approaching, it’s a good time to pause and think about drugs and alcohol in the workplace. This is an important issue that often becomes more challenging during this time of year. Taking time to be proactive now helps ensure a safe environment for everyone. There also a few changes in this space for you to consider
Update on the New Standard for Urine Drug Testing
The new industry standard for drug testing, AS/NZS 4308:2023 is now being implemented by testing agencies. There is a transition period to move to this new standard to be completed by December 2026. The updated standard includes several changes including for testing protocols and to cut-off limits. This is an ideal time to check with your testing provider as to what their timescales for changing to the new standard is and to then review your employment terms and policies for alignment. Taking action now will help close any potential loopholes and ensure you’re prepared should you need to enforce your policy.
Risk of Impairment vs. Actual Impairment
This is an area that remains an ongoing challenge because there are no tests to measure actual impairment, only a ‘risk of’. Under the Health and Safety Act, as Employers you have a duty to eliminate or minimise risk wherever possible. Having a robust and up to date Drug and Alcohol Policy and procedures in place is one strategy to help manage any risks posed by an employee who may be at risk of impairment due to drugs and/or alcohol at work. Ultimately, the goal is simple: maintaining a safe working environment for everyone.
Repeat / Rehabilitation Testing
Sometimes there can be a requirement for follow-up testing for example if a positive result has been returned and there is an agreement to further testing or where a rehabilitation program is in place.
To the untrained eye, a subsequent test can appear to show reduced drug levels. This can happen for more reasons than usage having stopped or reduced. An easy example is urine being more diluted than it was in a previous test. If the lab is informed that the test is a subsequent one they can apply mathematical formula so that creatinine levels are factored when comparing samples. This is a case of giving the experts all the information so that they can give you accurate reports. If you have an employee in this situation please ask your testing providers to flag this with the laboratory.
Addiction and Human Rights
Diagnosed addiction is considered a disability under the Human Rights Act. This doesn’t prevent you from managing a situation, but it does require you to take have some additional considerations in the mix. If you find yourself with this type of situation our recommendation is to get advice before progressing to ensure your process takes all factors into account.
Managing Privacy
The Cummings v KAM Transport Limited 2025 case reported earlier this year highlights the importance of managing information and privacy when it comes to drug testing. In this case the employee was awarded $30,000 when his refusal to take a random drug test was disclosed resulting in rumours across the company.
Drug and alcohol testing results form a part of personal information / records and are subject to Privacy Act requirements. This is a good time to check that only those who are permitted and genuinely need to know have access to drug and alcohol testing information.
Keep the Conversation Going
The most effective drug and alcohol policy is not the one that is sitting on the shelf gathering dust. Too often we hear employees say, “I didn’t know.” To avoid this:
- Use your toolbox meetings to remind people about the policy and what your expectations are.
- Talk about the impact of drug and alcohol use in the workplace and the risks these pose to everyone’s safety, run training / information sessions if of benefit.
- Consider client expectations when your team work at different client locations. Make sure your team understands the client’s requirements regarding drugs and alcohol at each of your client sites. If these differ from your own, communicate the changes clearly so there are no surprises.
Lastly
- TDDA have introduced a CSI (Comprehensive Substance Identification) course. This course is designed to help managers who are concerned about an employee’s fitness for work but are unsure if they have enough grounds to request a drug test for reasonable cause.
- Remote testing is coming, TDDA are trialling this at the moment. This will be a fantastic addition to the tools available to help manage drugs and alcohol in your workplace – wherever your team is located throughout NZ.
If you need help with reviewing your drug and alcohol policies or practices get in touch with sonya@growhr.co.nz